The Blog

We’re hiring: the consulting life at Scriptorium

Scriptorium is hiring. Our consulting jobs are a unique blend that you don’t see in many other places. Over and over, I’ve found myself struggling to explain this mix to candidates. So here is an attempt to describe life at Scriptorium.

Client load

Employees typically work on multiple client projects in a single week. You might deliver a draft document to one client, then turn your attention to updates on another project, receive a few review comments from a third client, and clear a support ticket from another client.

Each project has a project lead. For small projects, the lead might also do the work; for larger projects, the lead coordinates the project team.

One of the biggest challenges is remembering different communication requirements. For example, we use Basecamp for project collaboration on some projects. For others, we use client infrastructure (usually SharePoint). We also use Slack channels, client file sharing systems, FTP sites, and more. Every project uses a different combination of tools.

Client mix

Our consultants and specialists are exposed to content workflows across many industries.

We specialize in working with organizations that have content problems, and those challenges are everywhere!

Sales and marketing responsibilities

Unlike freelancers, our employees are not responsible for hunting down their own new projects. But our employees do have some sales and marketing responsibilities. These include:

Participating in social networking

Writing blog posts or other articles

Presenting at industry conferences

Ensuring that clients are happy

Noticing when a client asks for additional work and making sure their issue is addressed promptly

Contributing to proposals

Travel

All of our consultants travel. Some of that travel is for conferences and industry events, and some is for client visits. No consultant is expected to travel more than 25% of the time; technical specialists travel less frequently than technical consultants.

Cloud systems

Our office space is in Research Triangle Park (Durham), North Carolina; we also have an employee in the Capital District of New York (Clifton Park). Most of our employees are based in NC, but all of our systems are cloud-based. Employees can access the information they need at home, or remotely, or while traveling.

Scriptorium versus corporate life

It’s hard to generalize about Scriptorium versus All Possible Full-Time Jobs. But here are some things to consider:

Domain knowledge (expertise about the company’s products and industry) is more valuable in a corporate job. Scriptorium employees move from project to project, so the domain changes constantly.

If you like change, Scriptorium may be the place for you. We learn new things in every project, and we are always looking for better ways to do things. If you prefer to develop deep expertise in a single set of tools or a specific approach, this is not the right place for you.

As a change of pace from client work, you might find yourself working on LearningDITA.com, writing blog posts, or working on internal processes.